A woman whose mother was found alive and well over two decades after she disappeared has opened up about whether she can 'forgive' her.
Police tracked down Michele Hundley Smith earlier this month after 'receiving new information' about the missing persons case which has spanned a whopping 24-years.
But at the request of the mother-of-three, her 'current whereabouts will remain undisclosed' - and her family members have been sharing their thoughts and feelings on this decision.
Smith vanished on 9 December, 2001, after leaving her home in Eden, North Carolina to go Christmas shopping in Martinsville, Virginia.
Advert
Her loved ones reported her missing, sparking an 'extensive investigation' into her disappearance which even involved the FBI.
A missing persons poster created by her relatives explained she was driving her dark green 1995 Pontiac Trans Sport van when she headed out shopping.
It also stated that she 'would not leave her kids by choice'. The three children were reportedly aged aged 19, 14 and seven when their mother went missing.
After the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office announced Smith had been found 'alive and well' at an 'undisclosed location within North Carolina', Smith's daughter shared a lengthy statement.
In a post on a Facebook page titled 'Bring Michele Hundley Smith Home', Amanda Smith explained she has experienced a 'whirlwind of emotions' since finding out her mother is okay.
In her first update shared on Saturday (21 February), she thanked the thousands of people who had supported the page and the search for her formerly missing mother.
"I want to thank everyone for their support and at some point I will be changing this page for other missing ppl [sic] but as of right now there is too much going on to deal with everything," Amanda wrote.
"I appreciate everyone's love and support. The personal details are not going to be dived into right now but I will say that my mother chose her new life and we know she is alive, and for now that is enough.
"I can't really think straight right now to make a heartfelt post but again, thank you all."
The following day, Amanda shared another post urging people to 'respect' her family as they are 'hurting and going through a lot', while revealing what she currently feels towards Smith.
Amanda's post read, in part: "I am ecstatic, I am p*ssed, I am heartbroken, I am all over the map! Will I have a relationship once more with my mom? Honestly I can't answer that bc I don't even know...
"My initial reaction would be yes absolutely but then I think of all the hurt...But even then...My mom is only human just as we all are.
"Everything I have been through in life, I can absolutely understand taking off and leaving... I am not saying that she gets off scott free without accountability or responsibility bc she absolutely needs to do that...
"What I am saying is that I am a runner as well and while this isn't something to be proud of at all, it's a part of being human.
"Each one of us humans have our faults, we each have a shadow part and we each deserve the chance to better ourselves and to heal from our past."
Amanda said that each of her family members are entitled to 'choose to forgive and forget, or not'.
"I may completely forgive my mother at some point or it may be too much to forgive and I only try moving forward best I can," she continued. "And I may choose to forget everything completely or I may never be able to forget...
"Well I mean nobody ever just forgets this kind of pain but I mean forget it enough to go on with life... My heart, soul and spirit says that I will forgive and I will never forget but I will be able to see it as a pain that no longer controls me. "Right now, my head says that would be insane... But as I mentioned, life is too short and we each are only human, we each make mistakes and have caused other souls pain in our time on this earth."
Amanda also urged people to keep an 'open' mind about the circumstances surrounding Smith's disappearance as well as asking for the public to 'please stop throwing accusations around'.
She explained she shared a 'love and bond that will never ever be forgotten' with Smith before she vanished, while praising her father for being a constant in her life.
"Both my dad and my mom deserve to have their choices and their feelings respected as well," Amanda added.
Amanda's father previously shared an eerily accurate theory about what he suspected had happened to Smith.
Olivia Burke